The Pittcon 2012 Program Committee is pleased to announce the recipients of 11 prestigious awards honoring scientists who have made outstanding contributions to analytical chemistry and applied spectroscopy. Each award will be presented during a symposium at Pittcon 2012, March 11-15, at the Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, Florida. This yearÃ¢s awards will recognize scientists using methodologies such as vibrational and infrared spectroscopy; ion, liquid, and gas chromatography; separation science; nanotechnology; bioanalytical chemistry; electrochemistry; microscopy, portable instruments; and mass spectrometry.

We are very honored that our former (2010) Plenary Lecturer Alan G. Marshall from Florida State University will receive the 2012 Pittsburgh Analytical Chemistry Award. This award acknowledges Marshall’s contributions to the field of analytical chemistry through his continuing development of Fourier transform ICR mass spectrometry. His current research spans FT-ICR instrumentation development, fossil fuels and environmental analysis, and mapping the primary and higher-order structures of biological macromolecules and their complexes.

When asked to comment on his work, Dr. Marshall stated, “It has been wonderful to have helped enable the explosive growth and impact of accurate mass measurement for addressing previously intractable analytical problems, ranging from petroleomics (i.e., prediction of the properties and behavior of crude oil and its products from their detailed organic composition) to mapping of contact surfaces in protein complexes inaccessible by NMR or x-ray diffraction. I especially look forward to the role of mass spectrometry in elucidating epigenetics (chemical modification of the genome without change in the nucleotide sequence) as the next grand challenge for biochemistry.”

Pittcon® is a registered trademark of The Pittsburgh Conference on Analytical Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy, a Pennsylvania non-profit organization. Co-sponsored by the Spectroscopy Society of Pittsburgh and the Society for Analytical Chemists of Pittsburgh, Pittcon is the premier annual conference and exposition on laboratory science. Proceeds from Pittcon fund science education and outreach at all levels, kindergarten through adult. Pittcon donates more than a million dollars a year to provide financial and administrative support for various science outreach activities including science equipment grants, research grants, scholarships and internships for students, awards to teachers and professors, and grants to public science centers, libraries and museums. Visit pittcon.org for more information.